ICT news

• Amazon Spends $2.75 Billion on AI Startup Anthropic in Its Largest Venture Investment Yet

  27-03-2024 19:01 via slashdot.org
  
  Amazon is making its largest outside investment in its three-decade history as it looks to gain an edge in the AI race. From a report: The tech giant said it will spend another $2.75 billion backing Anthropic, a San Francisco-based startup that's widely viewed as a frontrunner in generative artificial intelligence. Its foundation model and chatbot Claude competes with OpenAI and ChatGPT. The companies announced an initial $1.25 billion investment in September, and said at the time that Amazon wo
  
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• China Reveals Most Detailed Geological Map of the Moon Ever Created

  27-04-2024 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Longtime Slashdot reader AmiMoJo shares a report from Nature: The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has released the highest-resolution geological maps of the Moon yet. The Geologic Atlas of the Lunar Globe, which took more than 100 researchers over a decade to compile, reveals a total of 12,341 craters, 81 basins and 17 rock types, along with other basic geological information about the lunar surface. The maps were made at the unprecedented scale of 1:2,500,000. The CAS also released a book cal
  
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• Europe Plans To Build 100-Qubit Quantum Computer By 2026

  27-04-2024 05:30 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report published last week by Physics World: Researchers at the Dutch quantum institute QuTech in Delft have announced plans to build Europe's first 100-quantum bit (qubit) quantum computer. When complete in 2026, the device will be made publicly available, providing scientists with a tool for quantum calculations and simulations. The project is funded by the Dutch umbrella organization Quantum Delta NL via the European OpenSuperQPlus initiative, which has 28 partner
  
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• Ring Customers Get $5.6 Million In Refunds In Privacy Settlement

  27-04-2024 04:02 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  The FTC is issuing more than $5.6 million in refunds to Ring customers as part of a privacy settlement. The Associated Press reports: In a 2023 complaint, the FTC accused the doorbell camera and home security provider of allowing its employees and contractors to access customers' private videos. Ring allegedly used such footage to train algorithms without consent, among other purposes. Ring was also charged with failing to implement key security protections, which enabled hackers to take control
  
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• Xbox Console Sales Are Tanking As Microsoft Brings Games To PS5

  27-04-2024 03:25 via games.slashdot.org
  In its third-quarter earnings call on Thursday, Microsoft reported a 30% drop in Xbox console sales, after reporting a 30% drop last April. "It blamed the nosedive on a 'lower volume of consoles sold' during the start of 2024," reports Kotaku. From the report: In February, Grand Theft Auto VI parent company Take-Two claimed in a presentation to investors that there were roughly 77 million "gen 9" consoles in people's homes. It didn't take fans long to do the math and speculate that Microsoft had
  
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• Court Upholds New York Law That Says ISPs Must Offer $15 Broadband

  27-04-2024 02:45 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit overturned a prior district court decision, lifting the injunction that blocked New York's law mandating that ISPs offer $15 broadband plans to low-income families. Ars Technica reports: The ruling (PDF) is a loss for six trade groups that represent ISPs, although it isn't clear right now whether the law will be enforced. For consumers who qualify for means-tested government benefits, the state law requires ISPs to offer "broadband at no more than $1
  
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• Fake Job Interviews Target Developers With New Python Backdoor

  27-04-2024 02:02 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from BleepingComputer: A new campaign tracked as "Dev Popper" is targeting software developers with fake job interviews in an attempt to trick them into installing a Python remote access trojan (RAT). The developers are asked to perform tasks supposedly related to the interview, like downloading and running code from GitHub, in an effort to make the entire process appear legitimate. However, the threat actor's goal is make their targets download malicious soft
  
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• IRS Free Tax Filing Pilot Saved Consumers $5.6 Million In Prep Fees

  27-04-2024 01:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The free tax filing pilot from the IRS that rolled out in 12 states last month saved filers an estimated $5.6 million in tax preparation fees for federal returns, said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. CNBC reports: This season, more than 140,000 taxpayers successfully filed returns using IRS Direct File, a free tax filing pilot from the IRS, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS. Direct File surveyed more than 15,000 users, around 90% of whom rated their experience as "excel
  
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• 45 Drives Adds Linux-Powered Mini PCs, Workstations To Growing Compute Lineup

  27-04-2024 00:40 via linux.slashdot.org
  
  Tobias Mann reports via The Register: Canadian systems builder 45 Drives is perhaps best known for the dense multi-drive storage systems employed by the likes of Backblaze and others, but over the last year the biz has expanded its line-up to virtualization kit, and now low-power clients and workstations aimed at enterprises and home enthusiasts alike. 45 Drives' Home Client marks a departure from the relatively large rack-mount chassis it normally builds. Founder Doug Milburn told The Register
  
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• Thoma Bravo To Take UK Cybersecurity Company Darktrace Private In $5 Billion Deal

  27-04-2024 00:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Darktrace is set to go private in a deal that values the U.K.-based cybersecurity giant at around $5 billion. A newly formed entity called Luke Bidco Ltd., formed by private equity giant Thoma Bravo, has tabled an all-cash bid of $7.75 per share, which represents a 44% premium on its average price for the three-month period ending April 25. However, this premium drops to just 20% when juxtaposed against Darktrace's closing price Thursday, as t
  
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• Judge Dismisses Superconductivity Physicist's Lawsuit Against University

  26-04-2024 23:20 via science.slashdot.org
  
  A judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by superconductivity physicist Ranga Dias against his employer, the University of Rochester in New York. From a report: In February, a university investigation found that he had committed scientific misconduct by, among other things, fabricating data to claim the discovery of superconductors -- materials with zero electrical resistance -- at room temperature. Dias filed the lawsuit against the university for allegedly violating his academic freedom and con
  
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• British Intelligence Moves To Protect Research Universities From Espionage

  26-04-2024 22:43 via news.slashdot.org
  
  The head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency warned the country's leading research universities on Thursday that foreign states are targeting their institutions and imperilling national security. The Record: "We know that our universities are being actively targeted by hostile actors and need to guard against the threat posed to frontier research in the most sensitive sectors," said the deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden, who also attended the briefing. The threat requires "further measur
  
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• Noise From Traffic Stunts Growth of Baby Birds, Study Finds

  26-04-2024 22:02 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Noise pollution from traffic stunts growth in baby birds, even while inside the egg, research has found. From a report: Unhatched birds and hatchlings that are exposed to noise from city traffic experience long-term negative effects on their health, growth and reproduction, the study found. "Sound has a much stronger and more direct impact on bird development than we knew before," said Dr Mylene Mariette, a bird communication expert at Deakin University in Australia and a co-author of the study,
  
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• Millions of IPs Remain Infected By USB Worm Years After Its Creators Left It For Dead

  26-04-2024 21:22 via it.slashdot.org
  
  A now-abandoned USB worm that backdoors connected devices has continued to self-replicate for years since its creators lost control of it and remains active on thousands, possibly millions, of machines, researchers said Thursday. ArsTechnica: The worm -- which first came to light in a 2023 post published by security firm Sophos -- became active in 2019 when a variant of malware known as PlugX added functionality that allowed it to infect USB drives automatically. In turn, those drives would infe
  
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• Captchas Are Getting Harder

  26-04-2024 20:40 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Captchas that aim to distinguish humans from nefarious bots are demanding more brain power. WSJ: The companies and cybersecurity experts who design Captchas have been doing all they can to stay one step ahead of the bad actors figuring out how to crack them. A cottage industry of third-party Captcha-solving firms -- essentially, humans hired to solve the puzzles all day -- has emerged. More alarmingly, so has technology that can automatically solve the more rudimentary tests, such as identifying
  
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• GNOME Foundation To Focus On Fundraising After Years Running A Deficit

  26-04-2024 20:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The GNOME Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting the GNOME desktop environment, has been operating at a deficit for several years, depleting its financial reserves. Robert McQueen, the foundation's president, has announced plans to increase fundraising efforts in a new blog post.
  McQueen adds: As you may be aware, the GNOME Foundation has operated at a deficit (nonprofit speak for a loss -- ie spending more than we've been raising each year) for over three years, essentially running th
  
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• Chinese Drone Maker DJI Might Get Banned Next in the US

  26-04-2024 19:20 via news.slashdot.org
  
  U.S. authorities consider DJI a security threat. Congress is weighing legislation to ban it [non-paywalled link], prompting a lobbying campaign from the company, which dominates the commercial and consumer drone markets. The New York Times: DJI is on a Defense Department list of Chinese military companies whose products the U.S. armed forces will be prohibited from purchasing in the future. As part of the defense budget that Congress passed for this year, other federal agencies and programs are
  
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• Android TVs Can Expose User Email Inboxes

  26-04-2024 18:40 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Some Android-powered TVs can expose the contents of users' email inboxes if an attacker has physical access to the TV. Google initially told the office of Senator Ron Wyden that the issue, which is a quirk of how software is installed on these TVs, was expected behavior, but after being contacted by 404 Media, Google now says it is addressing the issue. From the report: The attack is an edge case but one that still highlights how the use of Google accounts, even on products that aren't necessari
  
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• Europeans 'Less Hard-Working' Than Americans, Says Norway Oil Fund Boss

  26-04-2024 18:00 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Europe is less hard-working, less ambitious, more regulated and more risk-averse than the US, according to the boss of Norway's giant oil fund, with the gap between the two continents only getting wider. FT: Nicolai Tangen, chief executive of the $1.6tn fund, told the Financial Times it was "worrisome" that American companies were outpacing their European rivals [non paywalled link] on innovation and technology, leading to vast outperformance of US shares in the past decade. "There's a mindset i
  
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• Encrypted Email Service Files DMA Complaint Claiming It Vanished from Google Search

  26-04-2024 17:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Tutao, known for the encrypted email service Tuta Mail, has filed a Digital Markets Act (DMA) complaint to the EU over an alleged de-ranking in Google Search. From a report: Google Search rankings are all too familiar to search engine optimization (SEO) specialists charged with ensuring web pages rise to the top of search results. In the case of Tutao's products -- Tuta Mail and Tuta Calendar -- all was going well until the beginning of March 2024, when the company claims tuta.com was abruptly d
  
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• Windows 11 Will Display Watermark If Your PC Does Not Support AI Requirements

  26-04-2024 16:40 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shares a report: With Windows 11 24H2 all geared up to have AI-intensive applications, Microsoft has added a code that will warn you if your PC does not meet the hardware requirements, according to code dug up by Twitter/X sleuth Albacore. The warning will be displayed as a watermark so you know that you cannot use certain AI-powered built-in apps because of an unsupported CPU.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  
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• Apple Removes Nonconsensual AI Nude Apps From App Store

  26-04-2024 16:03 via apple.slashdot.org
  
  404 Media: Apple has removed a number of AI image generation apps from the App Store after 404 Media found these apps advertised the ability to create nonconsensual nude images, a sign that app store operators are starting to take more action against these types of apps.
  Overall, Apple removed three apps from the App Store, but only after we provided the company with links to the specific apps and their related ads, indicating the company was not able to find the apps that violated its policy it
  
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• OpenAI's Sam Altman and Other Tech Leaders To Serve on AI Safety Board

  26-04-2024 14:49 via slashdot.org
  
  Sam Altman of OpenAI and the chief executives of Nvidia, Microsoft and Alphabet are among technology-industry leaders joining a new federal advisory board focused on the secure use of AI within U.S. critical infrastructure, in the Biden administration's latest effort to fill a regulatory vacuum over the rapidly proliferating technology. From a report: The Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board is part of a government push to protect the economy, public health and vital industries from
  
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• Honda To Spend $11 Billion On Four EV Factories In North America

  26-04-2024 12:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Jonathan M. Gitlin reports Ars Technica: Honda announced today that it will spend $11 billion to expand its electric vehicle manufacturing presence in North America. The Japanese automaker already has a number of factories in the US, Mexico, and Canada, and it's this last one that will benefit from the expansion, with four EV-related plants planned for Ontario. Honda says it has begun evaluating requirements for what it's calling an "innovative and environmentally responsible" EV factory and a s
  
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• TSMC Unveils 1.6nm Process Technology With Backside Power Delivery

  26-04-2024 05:30 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Tom's Hardware: TSMC announced its leading-edge 1.6nm-class process technology today, a new A16 manufacturing process that will be the company's first Angstrom-class production node and promises to outperform its predecessor, N2P, by a significant margin. The technology's most important innovation will be its backside power delivery network (BSPDN). Just like TSMC's 2nm-class nodes (N2, N2P, and N2X), the company's 1.6nm-class fabrication process will rel
  
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• Alphabet Shares Jump 14% On Earnings Beat, First-Ever Dividend

  26-04-2024 03:25 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Alphabet has reported first quarter results that topped analysts' estimates with soaring profits in its cloud division. It also announced its first-ever dividend. CNBC shares the results: Earnings per share: $1.89 vs. $1.51 per share expected by LSEG
  Revenue: $80.54 billion vs. $78.59 billion expected by LSEGWall Street is also watching several other numbers in the report:YouTube advertising revenue: $8.09 billion vs. $7.72 billion expected, according to StreetAccount.
  Google Cloud revenue: $9.5
  
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• Seagate Joins the HDD Price Hike Party, Blames AI for Spike in Demand

  26-04-2024 02:41 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Seagate has joined Western Digital in increasing the prices of hard drives, with rising demand due to the huge data requirements of AI taking the blame. AI is also behind a rapid growth in orders for Enterprise solid state drives. From a report: One of the big three makers of traditional rotating hard disk drives, Seagate informed customers that it is increasing prices effective immediately for new orders, but also for any changes to orders that are "over and above" previously committed volumes.
  
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• Open Sourcing DOS 4

  26-04-2024 02:01 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft releases one of the most popular versions of MS-DOS as open source today. stikves shares a post:Ten years ago, Microsoft released the source for MS-DOS 1.25 and 2.0 to the Computer History Museum, and then later republished them for reference purposes. This code holds an important place in history and is a fascinating read of an operating system that was written entirely in 8086 assembly code nearly 45 years ago.
  Today, in partnership with IBM and in the spirit of open innovation, we'r
  
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• US Teacher Charged With Using AI To Frame Principal With Hate Speech Clip

  26-04-2024 01:10 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Thomas Claburn reports via The Register: Baltimore police have arrested Dazhon Leslie Darien, the former athletic director of Pikesville High School (PHS), for allegedly impersonating the school's principal using AI software to make it seem as if he made racist and antisemitic remarks. Darien, of Baltimore, Maryland, was subsequently charged with witness retaliation, stalking, theft, and disrupting school operations. He was detained late at night trying to board a flight at BWI Thurgood Marshall
  
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• Garry's Mod Is Taking Down Decades of Nintendo-Related Add-Ons

  26-04-2024 00:30 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Following copyright takedown requests from Nintendo, the popular physics sandbox game Garry's Mod said it would be pulling all of its Nintendo-related add-ons. "Honestly, this is fair enough. This is Nintendo's content and what they allow and don't allow is up to them," said the developers in a post on Steam. "They don't want you playing with that stuff in Garry's Mod -- that's their decision, we have to respect that and take down as much as we can. This is an ongoing process, as we have 20 year
  
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